Event Details:
(SNI Jr. Faculty Candidate)
Abstract: A common goal of neuroscience and robotics is to understand how systems can be built to move effectively through the world. One of the most important insights gained from robotics is the principle that an agent’s controller – or an animal’s nervous system - can only be understood in the context of its physical embodiment and surroundings. I will show how this principle can explain individual and group-level behaviors of Drosophila melanogaster. First, I will reveal a link between leg adhesion and the coordination of walking. Second, I will describe how interactions between flies give rise to enhanced, collective responses to environmental cues. These results demonstrate the importance of studying the nervous system in a mobile, embodied context and illustrate the scientific opportunities that lie at the interface between neuroscience and robotics.